Each loan receives a composite risk score based on multiple fraud indicators:
FinCEN data shows fintech lenders were 5x more likely to process suspicious PPP loans compared to traditional banks.
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) filed against fintech PPP lenders rose 39% from 2019-2022. These platforms used automated approval systems with reduced human oversight and compliance controls, making them attractive targets for fraudsters.
Flagged lenders include: Bluevine, Kabbage, Womply, Cross River Bank, Celtic Bank, Customers Bank, Ready Capital, Biz2Credit, and others with elevated SAR filing rates.
Map colors show the percentage of loans in each ZIP code with elevated risk scores (Medium or higher):
This analysis uses official SBA PPP loan data cross-referenced with:
Total CA loans analyzed: 1,082,132